Will Abortion Kill Reform's Last Chance?

February 2, 2010

The one place where the Senate bill is more conspicuously liberal than its House counterpart is on abortion policy. And, wouldn't you know it, that one provision could undermine the latest effort to pass health care reform.

Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak, who voted for the House bill, has said he can't vote for the Senate bill because of its less restrictive language on abortion. And he's said that many like-minded Democrats would do the same.

Nobody is sure how many would actually follow Stupak's lead, but the buzz around Capitol Hill is that it could be between ten and fifteen Democrats, particularly since it'd make a politically convenient excuse for members who are growing more reluctant to support health reform anyway. If that happened--and if Speaker Nancy Pelosi couldn't get some members who originally voted "no" to vote "yes" this time around--the Senate bill won't pass the House.

But, as I explain in a new Bloggingheads segment, there are ways out of this dilemma. The odds of success aren't terrific, but they're not ridiculously low, either.